Whole Foods workers in Philadelphia vote to become chain’s first to unionizeWhole Foods workers in Philadelphia vote to become chain’s first to unionize

Workers at a Whole Foods Market in the Center City district of Philadelphia voted on Monday to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, making it the first union in the grocery chain’s history. 

UFCW 1776 released a statement Tuesday and called the vote a victory for workers seeking “fair wages, better benefits, and a safer, more supportive workplace.”

The Amazon-owned grocery chain also released a statement Tuesday but gave no indication on whether it would challenge the union effort through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 

“Whole Foods Market is proud to offer competitive compensation, great benefits, and career advancement opportunities to all team members. We are disappointed by the outcome of this election, but we are committed to maintaining a positive working environment in our Philly Center City store,” the company said in an email to Supermarket News.

In November, when workers filed a petition with the NLRB to join the union, Whole Foods Market said that it remains “committed to listening to our team members, making changes based on their feedback, and treating all of our team members fairly in a safe, inclusive working environment, while providing our team members with career advancement opportunities, great benefits, and market competitive compensation.”

Whole Foods employees at the Philadelphia store tell a different story, saying in the press release that they “faced a relentless campaign of intimidation, misinformation, and anti-union tactics from Amazon and Whole Foods management.” 

“We are incredibly proud of the Whole Foods workers who have stood up to Amazon’s union-busting tactics and demonstrated the strength of solidarity,” UFCW Local 1776 President Wendell Young IV said in the press release. “This fight is far from over, but today’s victory is an important step forward. We are ready to bring Whole Foods to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair first contract that reflects the workers’ needs and priorities.”

The union effort could jeopardize the store’s existence when considering the online retail giant’s hostility toward organized labor. 

Amazon made headlines on Jan. 22, with the announcement that it is closing all seven of its warehouses in the Canadian province of Quebec to avoid unionization of workers, according to the Associated Press. 

Those closures resulted in the elimination of 1,700 permanent full-time jobs and 250 temporary jobs in Montreal. Amazon said it would instead work with third-party vendors for the delivery of its packages. 

Amazon also faces union efforts in the U.S., with dozens of drivers and warehouse workers walking off the job across the country in mid-December to protest anti-union efforts. Amazon has disputed that some 10,000 of its workers are represented by the Teamsters Union. 

The union vote took place on the same day that Amazon announced the promotion of Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel to lead Worldwide Grocery stores for Whole Foods.

Buechel was named CEO in September 2022, and previously served as chief operating officer.